


Consequences

by jessiestark



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Broadchurch AU, Broadchurch Series 1 AU, Broadchurch Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1512707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessiestark/pseuds/jessiestark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After passing through a difficult divorce led by situations that were her fault only, Sophie Hartwell finally settled her life with her daughter Daisy and started to work again. But there was bad news for her– she was transferred to the worst place possible: The Police Station of Broadchurch.</p><p>     Why? Because Alec Hardy worked there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

At the moment she arrived in that city, all the memories came quickly rushing into her mind. Sophie had to shake her head and take a deep breath before she would lose control of the car. An accident there would call too much undesirable attention. And attention was everything she’d been trying to avoid since that bloody day when her life was ruined.

She stopped in front of the town's only hotel, took her keys to the room she’d booked earlier and went upstairs. The view of the city was staggering; it was even possible to see the beach from there. Sophie sighed, hating her wonderful view. Hating the fact that the town could be nice, calm and beautiful even though the horrible things she would have to endure in a near future. Things she wasn’t sure she could handle, especially in the way it was about to come.

As usual, she stood wide awake during the whole night, lost in thoughts and bitterness - first sunlight was received with a horrible headache. Thirty minutes later, she was walking down the streets of Broadchurch. Today was the first press day the local police would give about the Latimer’s Case.

Sophie was sitting in one of the chairs on the back. She didn’t have to wait too long. He was punctual, always had been. But at his sight, she couldn’t but to take a deep breath while blinking uncontrollably, fighting the tears back. He was with that serious face she always imitated while trying to make fun of him. But of course, that was in the good ol' days when they had a perfect life.

The press went on with nothing new until someone mentioned the Sandbrook Case. Sophie straightened herself up in the chair while a shiver came down her spine, noticing a mix of anger and pain on Alec Hardy’s expression. It broke her heart to see him that way. It was almost like she could taste the guilt on her mouth, a bitter thing that frowned her face and wet her eyes.

When the press was nearly finished, she made her way to the police department, ready to do what she’d come here for. Asking for the Chief Superintendent, she sat down and waited just for a few minutes until she heard a woman’s voice calling her name. She stood up - right at the moment a door opened, and with it, Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller – Sophie had seen her name in the press conference – and Detective Inspector Alec Hardy. He stopped suddenly with wide eyes at the sight of Sophie, like something had just hit or an invisible wall had been planted in front of his path, but the only thing he did was shake his head and keep walking.

Thankfully, she got the chance of taking the day off – Chief Superintendent Elaine Jenkinson said she had to prepare Hardy to her arrival due to the circumstances – she spent the whole day staring at the sea, letting the wind tangle her hair. That brief encounter and the press conference was a big deal to take in, and it was just the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot more to endure. A lot more to process. 

 

And as the next day came, Sophie put a nice outfit on and drove her way to her new job, now with a shiny badge hanged in her coat. She smiled shortly the colleague officers she encountered in her way and followed Chief Jenkinson into the section she was going to work at. Having all those people gazing at her when she got inside the section caused butterflies in her stomach. But there he was - the worst look, the one who her instinct would shout for her to run far away while her heart was crying for her to go and hug him, have him in her arms and beg for him to forgive her. And now the torture had officially begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you for reading this!  
> As you can see, my character for Alec's wife isn't the one who's appeared in the show. I've created her while series 1 came out, so we didn't even know her name. Because of that, I didn't want to change her name and personality after series 2. So this is Sophie the way I've imagined her since the beginning of Broadchurch series 1.
> 
> Hope you like this as much as I did while writing it (I ship Sophie and Alec them very much, so it was kinda painful to write tbh, but I love them both)


	2. Receptions

“ Good morning everyone.” Chief Jenkinson started. “I have the pleasure to introduce Detective Sergeant Sophie Hartwell. She’s been transferred from South Mercia HQ and she’s here to help us with the Latimer’s case.” She looked at Hardy for a second and continued.“ Hartwell and Hardy had worked together once, so everyone can know. Sophie’s going to work alongside with him and Miller. Three heads work better than two” The Chief Superintendent finished looking at both of them like a parent would do - she’s got her eye on them.

Moments before her announcement, Jenkins has spent some time talking to Sophie. She knew about what happened with the Sandbrook case, and she had to be sure that her relationship with Alec wouldn’t be very much of a problem to this case. Sophie forced a smile to make sure that the woman would believe her. If it was only to her, she didn’t want any trouble there. But did someone notice Alec Hardy on that? Not that it would make a difference, really. but... well. 

She hoped that the ‘they’d worked together before’ would remain as something vague for a while until she’s established and fine among the cop force in the Broadchurch HQ. After the Chief left, most of the officers welcomed Hartwell and went back to work. But of course there was a certain person not slightly happy with her arrival.

“Hartwell!” D.I. Hardy shouted from while entering his room. “Inside, _now!”_

She took a deep breath and bypassed Miller, who leaned her head toward Alec’s room and whispered a ‘Good luck with him’ followed by the trace a grimace. Sophie grinned, shrugging. “Not even luck can save me now.” 

Hardy stared at her with a stiff expression, a trace of anger and sadness on his eyes. The eyes she could read with just a second, the eyes she knew so well. When he spoke, his voice was a mix of expressions, but the harsh tone he’d used with everyone stood out the most. 

“ _What_ the hell are you doing here?” His familiar Scottish accent was there again, like an old melody to her ears. “Aren’t you satisfied with ruining my life once?”

Okay. So this is how he decided to play this - he was talking to her like she was just another cop in the team, and she had to problem with that. In fact, it was exactly what she wanted. But yet she couldn’t pretend that the last fourteen years didn’t happened. He couldn’t either. And then she didn’t know exactly what posture she should use. 

So the woman decided to follow a certain pattern. A few rules established while she was coming to the town. First: not yell or have any emotional response, like crying or getting nervous. 

“Well, in response to your first question, what I am doing here has something to do with a little thing called _transfer._ D’you ever heard of it? Guess so.” She stared him emphatically . “And for the second question, I don’t really know what you want to hear from me. **_Sir.”_** Accentuating the last word, the woman looked at him with crossed arms, hoping she could stress her desire for their relation to be just professional.

Alec sighed and took his glasses off, throwing them on the table. “Well then, Sergeant Hartwell. If that’s how we’ll play, I’d like to remind you that I’m still your supervisor – as I’ve always been. Don’t think that only because we were.. close, I will tolerate any indiscipline in my team. I don’t want this to be a failure like Sandbrook was.” He let out a breath, his fingers covering his eyes. “You can go now.”

Sophie walked back to her new desk and put herself to work. Working in a case, it didn’t matter which one, had almost always the same standards procedures. Of course sometimes a few things changed, were added or were taken off – It depended on the circumstances. And no matter how shook she was, it was time to turn her cop mode on. She straightened her posture and focused her brain in what mattered - find who killed Danny Latimer. And she couldn’t but to ask: why another case with a kid? Those were always the worst.

At luch, Miller invited her for a walk once she was about to live there. She considered refusing the offer but ended up saying yes to the woman. As they walked, she learned that Ellie - how she preferred to be called - was actually pretty nice. She was funny and Sophie believed, adding some time, that they could really become friends. 

“So, you and the boss worked together, didn’t it?” They sat down in a bench where they could see the sea. “Was he always like that?” 

She bite her sandwich before answering. “You mean always bad mooded? Yep. It gets worse as the case goes on.” 

“Worse?” Ellie let out a laugh. “I didn’t imagine that was possible. God save us all.” 

Hartwell laughed as well. “I think he doesn’t really realise he’s being a pain in the arse. He always so focused in the case that he forgets everything - eating, sleeping… even family.” She cleared her throat at the last word, hoping Ellie didn’t notice. 

“I don’t doubt that. But well, at least now I’m not alone with him. We’re the Three Musketeers.” 

“Yeah, I guess we are.” She let out a grin. 

But she couldn’t but to think that her role in this would be more like Milady de Winter.


	3. Bloody Situation

Sitting at his office, Alec Hardy took off his glasses with a deep sigh, looking through the glass of his office at the empty tables. It was night and late, and he was the only one in the department—as usual. His head seemed to be exploding, but going home now was the last thing he wanted to do. His brain had to be busy with something; otherwise his thoughts would be driven to her.

Sophie. Why did she have to be here? Hadn’t he already suffered enough? Months had passed, but the pain didn’t slow down a bit. It was the same intensity, stabbing his heart constantly, a bloody reminder of the day he never thought it would happen. And why did she have to appear now? Alec was determined to solve this case; it was his only chance to prove that he wasn’t the worst cop in Britain. And how could he focus at the damn case now?

Rubbing his eyes, the Detective Inspector shook his head, his hands reaching his phone. He didn’t know if it was the right thing, but he did know waiting longer wasn’t possible anymore. He _needed_ to hear his daughter voice; her absence was slowly killing him.  And not the voice machine, he needed to have an actual conversation with her.

_“Hello, this is Annie Holmes. I can’t answer now so… leave a message. Bye!”_

How surprising. Voice machine. _Again_.

“Hey sweetie, it’s me. Dad. I—hm, well, call me when you have time, will ya? I miss talkin’ to ya. And why are you using your mother’s last name now? What’s wrong about being ‘Annie Hardy’?” He sighed. “ ‘kay, I’m sorry, that was rude. Do whatever you want. I just... I love you. Don’t.. forget that.”

His daughter officially hated him now. One good news after another, when will he catch a break? Tossing his phone back on his pocket and looking around, Alec realized there was nothing else he could do today. He wasn’t getting anywhere. New information, that’s what he needed.

Leaving the police department and his car parked at the parking lot, Alec went down the street by his feet, hands on pockets; head down while he went against the wind. Turning down the corner, his eyes rose to the beach at the other side of the road.

Broadchurch. So many memories, so many happy times. It was all different now, but he could still feel the past haunting him. Oh, he missed his old life; having a family. Going home and be able to laugh and have his wife on his arms again, being able to help his daughter with her homework. Now everything looked like a far distant world.

He couldn’t see what’d gone wrong. It wasn’t all her fault, of course not. But it was hard to think about it. In the dark, cold night his steps lead him through the street of the town, making short stops. Alec went to the cliff, walked until he reached the church, to Miller’s house… and without realizing he was standing in front of the Latimer’s house. Lights could be seen from one of the windows.

             He needed to solve that case.

                       And he needed to solve his life.

 

* * *

 

“I want to talk to Tom, he was Danny’s best friend, he must know something to help us.” Alec Hardy stopped at the side of Miller’s desk. “And I want that CCTV images from the night of death again.”

“He doesn’t know anything, I asked him.” She answered.

“Maybe that are things he wouldn’t tell his mother. Either way, I want him here.” Before letting her answer, he went to take a cup of coffee. Not sleeping at night was making his head ache constantly. At least his heart was okay so far.

“Morning.” Sophie Holmes said, leaned against the counter while drinking a cup of tea.

Alec his answered with a nod. At her sight his heart immediately sunk on his chest and his breath accelerated a tiny bit. But he concentrated on his task now— the coffee. He could hear the woman sigh. “The Latimer family, how are they?” Oh, what and attempt to start a conversation.

“What do you think?” He retorted, and silence followed his answer. After taking a sip, he finally turned to face her. “Why is Annie using your last name now?”

Sophie frowned and shook her head. “Why is she—what?”

“What, you didn’t know it? _Really_ , Sophie?” Hardy took his head and let out a breath in disbelief. “Unbelievable.”

“Ale—“ Holmes called, but he left the room back to his office.

 

* * *

 

Days passed, and nothing progressed. A few clues, some eliminated suspects, but nothing concrete. And now there was Jack Marshall’s death. Sitting at the church bench while listening to Reverend Coates scold the town with his Christian metaphors, he also took a good look in everybody around. Yes, Alec was feeling like deep inside Jack’s death was his fault. But there was nothing he could do, not know.

He wasn’t the one who wrote those articles. If people wanted someone to blame, that’d be the press. All those bloody journalists, doing everything and destroying everyone just a sell a damn story. Looking back, a pair of bright blue eyes were staring at him, sadness easily caught on them. The pair of blue eyes he used to see when he wake up, when he was sure that’d be the eyes who would smile at him forever, be at his side forever and ever.

Shaking his head with a sigh, his attention was driven back to Paul Coates.


End file.
